Ethically challenged, that’s an understatement for the Trudeau government.

The PM’s office is now under investigation by Ethics Commissioner Mario Dion to see if he broke any laws or regulations in pressuring then- attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould to go easy on a Liberal-friendly firm from Quebec, SNC-Lavalin.

It isn’t unfamiliar territory for Trudeau; he is after all, the first prime minister to be found in violation of Canada’s ethics laws for MPs over his trip to the private island of the Aga Khan.

So in this current situation they have the ethics commissioner investigating, they have New Brunswick Liberal MP Wayne Long calling for an investigation into the SNC affair and Ontario Liberal MP Celina Caesar-Chavannes pushing back against the PMO’s smearing of Wilson-Raybould.

Oh, and the RCMP might be looking into this and they just aren’t saying.

“The RCMP is aware of this matter but will not comment further at this point,” Staff-Sgt. Tania Vaughan told me on Monday.

That’s about the best news Justin Trudeau has had in a few days, the RCMP won’t say they are investigating, but they won’t rule it out either.

On Sunday, former Conservative attorney general Peter MacKay joined with former Ontario Liberal attorney general Michael Bryant and retired judge turned law professor Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond in calling for a police investigation.

A headline screaming RCMP investigate PM is the last thing Trudeau needs about seven months before an election.

He also likely doesn’t need or appreciate one of his own MPs, Wayne Long, calling for an investigation. But there it was on Monday morning, Long insisting an investigation is the best way to have questions answered.

Montreal headquarters of SNC Lavalin (The Canadian Press)

“I believe that a full and transparent investigation is necessary to ensure that my constituents, and all Canadians, can be confident in the veracity of those answers,” Long said.

But the kind of investigation needed goes beyond what the ethics commissioner can provide. There are no real penalties if wrongdoing is found.

In fact, Trudeau said on Monday that he “welcomed” the investigation. Of course he does since he gets to say for the next several months in the House of Commons that he can’t comment and that he will work with the commissioner.

We know enough to realize this government is ethically challenged, but is it criminal?

Anatomy of a scandal

How did this scandal happen and why is it a scandal?

This starts with allegations that between 2001 and 2011, SNC-Lavalin was playing bribes to public officials in Libya. The company is also accused of defrauding Libyan partners out of $130 million.

Bribing foreign officials is a violation of Canadian law.

The RCMP charged the company in 2015.

After charges were laid, the company began a lobbying campaign to avoid charges. Executives pushed for a deferred prosecution or remediated settlement, something common in the United States but not part of Canada’s justice system at that time.

The Trudeau government was willing to consider the idea and added an amendment to the Criminal Code in the 2018 federal budget.

After the amendment became law, SNC-Lavalin continued with their political campaign to avoid prosecution. On Sept. 18, 2018 — just three days before the change in law took effect — SNC’s CEO Neil Bruce met with the most powerful civil servant in the counrty, Michael Wernick, clerk of the Privy Council, and Catrina Tapley, the secretary to cabinet.

He also met with Finance Minister Bill Morneau and his chief of staff, Ben Chin, to discuss their legal troubles that day.

On Oct. 10, 2018, it was revealed that the director of the Public Prosecution Service of Canada had advised SNC-Lavalin that they would not be getting their wish to negotiate a remediation agreement. Nine days later the company appealed to the Federal Court seeking judicial review.

The allegation is that the Prime Minister’s Office pressured then-attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould to intervene. They wanted her to direct the director of the Public Prosecution Service of Canada to make a deal with SNC. While it is in the powers of the attorney general to do so, they cannot be subject to political pressure from the prime minister, or anyone else, to do so.

Senior Liberals have admitted to various media outlets that the conversations happened but maintain there was nothing wrong with them, that they did not cross the line.

That line would be, among other things, violating Sec. 139 of the Criminal Code which states that it is an offence to “obstruct, pervert or defeat the course of justice.”

What the PMO is accused of doing may constitute obstruction of justice by attempting to use political pressure to avoid prosecution for a company that is favoured by the government.

On Feb. 11, 2019, ethics commissioner Mario Dion announced that he was investigating the matter.

Past Trudeau government ethics problems

The Trudeau Report: This is the report into Justin Trudeau’s trip to Bell Island, the Aga Khan’s luxurious private island at no cost to Trudeau or his family. The first PM to break ethics laws.

The Leblanc report: Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic Leblanc was found to have violated the country’s ethics act by giving a lucrative clam fishing licence to a relative.

The Philpott Report: While health minister, Jane Philpott was investigated for using the services of a supporter to bill taxpayers for higher-than-average rates for limousine services while she was in Toronto.

Bill Morneau’s Villa : Justin Trudeau’s finance minister had to restate his ethics disclosure statement to the ethics commissioner after forgetting that he owned a villa in the south of France.